Potholed roads are ‘devastating political advertising’ for the Victorian government – but Ben Carrol’s made them the focus of his campaign
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At a press conference to celebrate the sold-out NFL match played at Melbourne’s MCG on Friday, the Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, was heckled on one issue.
“Fix the potholes,” a punter called out as they walked past the Victorian premier’s press conference.
Continue reading...Luke Sayers says he accepts Cate Sayers did not post photo of his genitals as she says settlement closes ‘painful and difficult chapter’
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The embattled former AFL club president Luke Sayers has apologised to his former wife for the harm he caused as her defamation case over a lewd photo settled.
Lawyers for Sayers, the immediate past president of the Carlton football club, read out the apology in the Victorian supreme court on Friday after indicating the settlement.
Continue reading...Exclusive: State government delayed releasing major report into the health of the koala population for more than 12 months
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The Victorian government sat on a report for more than 12 months that found the state’s koala population was in chronically poor health.
The review of the state’s koala populations, led by state science agency the Arthur Rylah Institute in conjunction with scientists from major universities, was completed for the Victorian government in June 2025.
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Duniam targets ‘frivolous’ asylum seeker claims
The opposition is “very close” to “having a full migration package”, Duniam says. He says they’re willing to work with the government and that illegal overstayers must be deported.
We spend more per student per year than we ever have before and we’ve got declining standards across the board, and the problem with the curriculum is we have left foundations behind.
Continue reading...Police search for alleged attacker, in his 50s, after incident in Gippsland town of Tyers
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Three people have been taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after an alleged axe attack in Victoria, with police still searching for the suspect.
The alleged attacker, who is known to the victims, came to an address in the Gippsland town of Tyers at about 12.30pm on Saturday, according to a spokesperson for Victoria police.
Continue reading...A total fire ban is in place for greater Sydney with extreme fire danger exacerbated by hot and windy conditions
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Summer heat is due to arrive early across much of eastern Australia with potentially record early September temperatures predicted for Brisbane and Sydney, while snow was expected in southern New South Wales.
Maximum temperatures in Sydney during the first days of September were on track to match the city’s midsummer average of 26.4C, warmer than any other start to spring since the city’s Observatory Hill station opened in 1858.
Continue reading...The $134,000 cost of the statue of the former Victorian premier has been heavily criticised by the Liberal opposition
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The Carroll government in Victoria has cancelled controversial plans for a statue of former Labor premier Daniel Andrews.
Work began in May on the statue commemorating the former premier’s more than 3,000 days in office, as part of a 1999 policy recognising long-serving Victorian premiers.
Continue reading...Police arrest five men and search six properties including the union’s Victorian headquarters
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Two men have been charged and Victorian police have seized drugs, guns and cars linked to the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in the building industry.
On Monday, detectives from Taskforce Hawk arrested five men and searched six properties including the Victorian headquarters of the union, saying they were investigating secret commissions, fraud and drug trafficking.
Continue reading...Opposition leader Jess Wilson says new dedicated court of criminal appeal would set precedents for tougher sentences
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A radical overhaul of Victoria’s highest court, proposed by the Liberal party to increase sentences, has been criticised by legal and human rights groups who warn it would politicise the judiciary.
The opposition leader, Jess Wilson, on Sunday announced that if elected in November the Coalition would split the court of appeal in two, creating a dedicated court of criminal appeal alongside a separate court of civil appeal.
Continue reading...Victorian court of appeal also to consider whether triple murder and attempted murder convictions should be quashed
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McWilliams is arguing against Patterson’s third ground of appeal.
On this ground, Patterson’s legal team argue the trial judge, Justice Christopher Beale, erred in ruling that photos and videos related to mushrooms and found on an SD card in Patterson’s home was inadmissible.
Continue reading...Lawyer for the entertainment industry and AFL figure says his career is ‘destroyed’ following conviction
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Entertainment industry and AFL figure Ralph Carr says he is in “living hell” and has been “destroyed” after being convicted of rape, a Victorian court has heard.
Carr was convicted of two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault after a trial in the county court of Victoria last month.
Continue reading...Authorities confirm first Australian death of species found with virus near where it attracts crowds to a ‘penguin parade’
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Australia’s first case of the deadly H5 bird flu in a little penguin has been confirmed on Victoria’s Phillip Island, only days after the state government announced it would begin vaccinating the species.
Confirmation of the virus in the little penguin will spark a race to vaccinate thousands of birds, with the government announcing on Saturday it would begin the rollout on Monday.
Continue reading...If opposition wins November’s state election, leader Jess Wilson vows households will not pay more under the change
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The Victorian Liberals have vowed to restore weekly rubbish collections if they win November’s state election, with leader Jess Wilson describing the current fortnightly system in her local area as “disgusting”.
Thirty-three Victorian councils have switched general rubbish collections from weekly to fortnightly, with a similar shift occurring in other states.
Continue reading...Konstantin Kontis and Vicky Kos were compelled to testify at a coronial inquest resuming on the sixth anniversary of the tragedy
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Quiet sobs could be heard in Melbourne’s coroner’s court, as several families attended to finally hear from the pair who were the most senior managers when, throughout July and August 2020, almost a quarter of the 188 residents at St Basil’s aged care home died from Covid-19 or neglect.
Following multiple failed legal bids to avoid giving evidence after 50 residents died in the Victorian aged care home they managed, Konstantin Kontis and Vicky Kos were compelled to testify at a coronial inquest resuming on the sixth anniversary of the tragedy.
Continue reading...As Australia prepares for the H5 bird flu to potentially rip through hundreds of species, residents of the Limestone Coast are already seeing the impacts
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It has only been three weeks since H5 bird flu was detected on South Australia’s Limestone Coast and already encounters with sick or dead birds are becoming commonplace.
Maureen Christie, who lives in the seaside town of Carpenter Rocks, has been observing and protecting birds in the region for decades. She is now witnessing many stricken and suffering.
Continue reading...Victorian corruption watchdog finds ‘serious and concerning’ conduct by senior Andrews government members in dealings with union boss
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Former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has defended the actions of senior members of his government, whom the state’s anti-corruption watchdog found engaged in “serious and concerning” conduct in their dealings with the leader of the firefighters’ union.
A long-awaited report by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, tabled in parliament on Wednesday, stopped stopped short of making any findings of corrupt conduct.
Continue reading...Local councillor who says he used to work on Daniel Andrews’ security team also part of upper house lineup for November’s state poll
A former Liberal party candidate, the animator behind Pauline Hanson’s anti-woke film and a local councillor who says he worked on former premier Daniel Andrews’ personal protection team have been unveiled as One Nation candidates for the Victorian election.
Pauline Hanson held a press conference on Monday to announce the eight candidates who will lead One Nation’s upper house tickets at the November state election.
Continue reading...M Group’s lawyer tells inquiry while the firm’s directors ‘may have done business with Gatto’ they were not ‘frontmen’ for him
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A labour hire company accused of being a front for underworld figure Mick Gatto paid him more than $1m over nine years, with its lawyer telling an inquiry it did so to secure work on Victorian government Big Build sites where the construction union had influence.
Integrity expert Geoffrey Watson SC appeared before the Queensland inquiry into the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) on Friday, defending his Rotting from the Top report, which alleged Gatto controlled several M Group companies through “dummy directors” Michael Portia and Tony Paragalli.
Continue reading...Committee apologises for not concealing email addresses when alerting witnesses to final report
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A Victorian parliamentary committee investigating the harmful impact of cults accidentally sent the email addresses of anonymous survivors who made submissions to current members of such groups and to journalists.
The committee, which had its report into “cults and organised fringe groups” tabled in parliament on Wednesday, emailed hundreds of recipients shortly after midday to inform them it had been published, but erroneously left their addresses visible.
Continue reading...Former leader shows support for new Victorian premier while paying tribute to Jacinta Allan
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Daniel Andrews has thrown his support behind Victoria’s new premier, Ben Carroll, saying he has what it takes to win November’s state election.
In a rare public statement on Wednesday, the former premier also paid tribute to Jacinta Allan, whom he handpicked to replace him as Labor leader when he resigned in September 2023.
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